As of the summer of 1990, the drought in California will be in its fourth year. This drought is causing a serious detrimental impact on the economy and environment in California. In 1977, California suffered a similar drought which caused a $2.4 billion loss. The current drought, however, is even worse. Indeed, the disastrous effects of the California drought are being felt by other states and, if the problem is left unresolved, could soon be realized by the nation at large.
As the population in California increases, so does the strain on its finite water resources. A long term solution is needed that will not only sustain California through drought years but will also accommodate its growth.
Present plans for dealing with the problem call for increased water transfers from surrounding states. Such plans even include the possibility of cutting a canal to the Columbia River system. If this is done, it would no doubt result in the same sort of debauching that California has experienced in its use of the lower Colorado River. Such plans are neither environmentally sound, nor are they long term solutions.
Many of the below-listed papers and articles relate to various aspects of this problem and the efforts and suggestions which have been made to resolve it. The remaining papers simply relate to engineering principles and empirical data which are relied upon in the following calculations. The papers include: (a) Drought Contingency Planning Guidelines for 1989, State of California, The Resources Agency, Department of Water Resources, January, 1989; (b) "Californians Won't Face Watery Truth"; Cameron, Mindy; Seattle Times, May 27, 1990; (c) Dorfman, Myron H., "Geopressured-Geothermal Energy and Associated Natural Gas", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 97-101; (d) Riney, T. D., "Gladys McCall Geopressured Reservoir Analysis", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 153-160; (e) Chacko, J. John, "Geology of the Gladys McCall Geopressured-Geothermal Prospect, Cameron Parish, Louisiana", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 115-121; (f) Csanady, G. T., Theory of Turbomachines, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964; (g) Ikoku, Chi. U., Natural Gas Production Engineering, Wiley, New York, 1984, chapter 4.3; (h) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press; (i) Street, E. H. and Tomson, M. B., "Scale Inhibition During Coproduction of Natural Gas", Proceedings, SPE Gas Technology Symposium, 1988, pp. 161-170; (j) Klementich, Erich F. and Jellison, Micheal J.,"Tubing String Design Considerations for Geopressured-Geothermal Wells", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 123-137; (k) Wallace, R. H. Jr., Kraemer, T. F., Taylor, R. E., and Wesselman, J. B., "Assessment of Geopressured-Geothermal Resources in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Basin", Assessment of Geothermal Resources of the United States-1978, Geological Survey Circular 790, pp. 132-155; (1) Rubin, Hillel and Bemporad, Giorgio A., "The Advanced Solar Pond (ASP): Theoretical Aspects", Solar Energy, Vol.43, No.1, pp. 35-44, 1989; (m) Raleigh, C. B., Healy, J. H., Bredehoeft, J. D., "An Experiment in Earthquake Control at Rangely, Colorado", Science, Vol.191, pp. 1230-1237, March, 1976; (n) Segall, P., "Earthquakes Triggered by Fluid Extraction", Geology, Vol. 17, pp. 942-946, October, 1989; (o) Wetmiller, Robert J., "Earthquakes Near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, and Their Relationship to Gas Production Facilities", Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol.23, pp. 172-181, 1986; (p) Eaton, B. A., Featherson, C. R., and Meahl, T. E., "U.S. Gulf Coast DOE Geopressured-Geothermal Energy Program Field Research Site Operations FY 1986 To Present, Accomplishments and Goals", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 103-108; and (q) Azari, M., "Average Aquifer Pressure and Reserve Estimates in Geopressured-Geothermal Reservoirs", Proceedings, Eleventh Annual Energy Source Conference and Exhibit, 1988, pp. 81-87.
The inventor believes the known prior art taken alone or in combination neither anticipate nor render obvious the present invention. Reference to the foregoing materials does not constitute an admission that such disclosures are relevant or material to the present claims. Rather, such materials relate only to the general field of the disclosure and are cited as constituting the closest art of which the inventor is aware.